In the produce industry, for example, various packaging elements or containers, such as cartons or boxes formed of cardboard, wood, or polymeric materials, are often used to pack, store, and/or ship produce throughout the world. Packers or packing plants are often responsible for harvesting or gathering the produce, sorting and grading the produce, preparing the produce such as by washing and waxing, and packing the produce into containers for shipment. Because of the various industry demands on the packing plants such as needs for more timely deliveries, for lower or more control of labor costs, for more inventory control and lower inventory costs, for more control over the sorting and grading, preparing, and packing processes, problems have arisen at various stages of the sorting and grading, preparing, and packing processes.
One of the areas where problems have arisen is in the supply speed and control of the containers used for packing the produce. Conventionally, for example, containers may be formed of a cardboard material which is relatively inexpensive, relatively lightweight, and in many cases can be recycled. To strengthen the cardboard cartons or containers, for example, two cartons may be nested or stuffed to reinforce side panels and/or bottom panels to produce a resulting nested or stuffed container. Containers may also, for example, be nested or stuffed for labeling purposes and for situations where a top or cover may be desired. This stuffing or nesting process may include erecting a collapsed container, and then once it is erected the container is inserted into the open end of another erected container. This stuffing or nesting process, however, can be time consuming particularly where the needs in the industry are for increased stuffed container production speed without damage to the containers being produced.
Additionally, containers often have labels printed or affixed to outer surfaces of the containers for identifying and advertising the farms, cooperatives, packers, and/or wholesale distributors responsible for the produce. What often occurs is that a wholesale distributor desires its label to be on a container during the shipping process to identify and advertise its image to retailers and the consuming public. The wholesale distributor then requests that the packers or packing plants use containers having its label already affixed thereto. Packing houses then must use and track different labelled containers for different customers and coordinate the correctly labeled containers to keep a smooth and efficient operation in the packing plant. Because the outer carton or container will often need to have an appropriate label affixed thereto, this container label coordination problem further exacerbates the stuffed or nested container production problem as well, particularly where enhanced production speed is often needed.